Choices
by Sir Perfluous
Summary: When fate selects a Ranger, they must decide for themselves whether or not to become a hero. It was a choice which led one Ranger to reconcile with the past and forge his unlikely friendship with a brilliant scientist and a compassionate caveman.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers or Kyoryugers, its characters, or any of its related intellectual property. I'm just a humble fan trying his best to salute the show.**

* * *

Beads of sweat dripped from Chase's brow as he hefted the heavy backpack and continued trudging through the overgrown forest. Above his head, several colorful birds fluttered through the dense canopy and called out a playful birdsong. A light mist hung in the afternoon air and wrapped around the trees, providing a little extra cover from the punishing rays of the hot summer sun. Just ahead of him, a short young woman with dark hair and an athletic build led the way, pushing aside some of the low hanging ferns as they ascended a steep winding hill. Pressing through the rough terrain, her hiking boots were already covered in wet mud and her orange tank top was damp with sweat.

"It's been a good two hours, yeah?" Chase finally huffed shifting the pack again as he walked. What do you say we take a little rest stop Maddie?"

The tanned skinned young woman named Madeline stopped and turned around, brushing aside an unruly strand of hair. She leaned on her walking stick and gave a sigh. "Oh, don't tell me you're tired again. We're almost there!" Her green eyes were sparkling with excitement and mischief.

"If you hadn't noticed luv, I'm the one carrying all the gear." Chase pointed out, stopping to kneel down and wipe his forehead.

"And doing such a very good job of it too." Maddie replied sweetly coming over to hand him a water bottle and massage his neck. Chase smiled and gratefully took a drink of water as he surveyed the thick overgrown New Zealand forests around them. While he did, Maddie let go and pulled out her compass to check their bearings. They had been hiking for some time around the outskirts of the North Island's Waipoua Forests. While it was already well known that there were remains of a Maori "Stone City" having been discovered, it still didn't stop the occasional treasure hunter or adventurous hiker from exploring the peripheral areas where others may have overlooked. Chase Randall and Madeline Abbott were two such adventurers.

"So do you actually think we'll find anything up there?" she mused. "I mean, your aunt did send us out here on one of her crazy hunches."

"Aunt Moana is never wrong about this sort of thing. You know that." Chase replied. "Besides, wouldn't it be neat if we were actually able to locate the site of another lost Maori settlement? To think, we'd be helping to preserve a little piece of your culture too."

Maddie looked back to him with a small smile and nodded her head. Since the day Chase had met Madeline Abbott at university, the girl had been fascinated with learning as much as she could about her heritage. Even if she was only half Maori, Madeline took very much after her mother by sharing the woman's dark features, beauty, and feisty nature. Those traits were what had originally drawn Chase to Madeline and the two had been inseparable friends ever since. Despite their classmates' gossip as to whether or not they were actually a romantic couple... well, that was still a bit of a murky area. Of course there were a lot of strong feelings and a lot of trust, but neither of them ever really seemed to be able to come out and verbalize it.

"Yes. There's that, but don't act like you haven't got your own reasons for coming along on this little trip." Maddie teased flipping shut her compass and sitting down beside him. "I know you'd probably geek out just as much as I would if we found something new."

Chase Randall had always enjoyed hunting for treasures and rare items, even if it was scouring flea markets to procure interesting rare antiques for his aunt Moana's shop. The added perk, was the fact that Moana had also taken a shine to Madeline and employed the Maori girl as a second assistant. While that job had given Chase a chance to do what he liked, it was the occasional amateur treasure hunts on the side that put his college study of archeology to good use. Maybe he could actually help make a real find and get his name known. After all, how many other treasure hunters, or archeologists would be able to claim they had any degree of fame at only age 23?

"To think," he teased with a light smile, "I could be spending this weekend skateboarding, or laying out on our usual spot at the beach. But no. Instead, I'm here tramping through the forests with you, neck deep in mud and mosquitoes."

Madeline nudged him, "Oh? I'm sure the beach wouldn't be half as interesting as an old ruin."

"Not true." Chase countered. "Seeing lots of scantily clad girls in bikinis is very interesting to me."

Madeline sighed melodramatically and shook her head with a small laugh, "You're hopeless, you know that? What am I going to do with you?" To that, her partner only gave an innocent smile and shrugged.

"Ok then lazybones, break time is over." Maddie playfully called as she pushed his shoulder and turned to continue the hike.

Chase groaned, but smiled to his partner as he rose to his feet. "Honestly, where do you get all your energy? You're always rushing off headfirst when we go on a hunt."

She shrugged with an enthusiastic smile. "What can I say? I'm always excited to see what's ahead of me."

Chase grinned and gave a flirtatious glance toward the short khaki shorts Maddie was wearing, admiring her rear end that was already in front of him. "Right now, I'm kinda excited by what's ahead of me too."

Maddie laughed and reached up, quickly kissing his cheek before the two continued to make their way to the top of the forested ridge.

* * *

After some time, they reached the top of the ridge and the two treasure hunters stopped to survey the area, both surprised and pleased at what they found. Scattered about, they could see untouched ruins of stone huts and several other structures. While many of the ruins were covered in green forested overgrowth, it suggested that no one had been there at all. "I can't believe it!" Maddie hissed in excitement squeezing Chase's hand. "We're going to find so much cool stuff!"

Before he could reply, she hurried forward to look around the ruins and scour the immediate grounds for artifacts. As Chase moved to join her, neither of the treasure hunters noticed the dark figure watching them from atop a nearby mound of collapsed dirt and stone. While the two explorers made their way further into the ruins, the dark figure melted deeper into the shadows and continued to stalk them.

* * *

Meanwhile, Maddie excitedly strolled past several ruined huts, taking a few photos on her phone while poking around in the nearby grass. As she walked the grounds, she tried to look for any signs of faded writing which would give clues as to where this settlement was, or what might have happened to it. After passing the remains of one large hut, she stopped a moment as the light caught something in the rubble. Madeline approached curiously and bent over, clearing away several inches of fallen rocks and earth until she found a large egg shaped stone.

"Hello. What have we here?" she asked aloud taking a closer look at her find. The rounded object was almost the size of her palm and was fairly smooth to the touch. As Maddie brushed more of the dirt away and held it up to the light, she was able to make out a dull reddish brown sheen to the stone. Her heartbeat quickened as she wondered if she found a large crafted piece of amber. Still, it was strange. The artifact didn't look like it was of Maori design at all. At that moment, Madeline couldn't help but feel like she was Indiana Jones and had stumbled upon an ancient mystery.

While Madeline was busy inspecting her find in the ruins, Chase kept watch and scanned the area when something else caught his eye on the ground. Reaching down into the long grasses, he found what looked to be a small crafted stone made out of a beautiful light purple obsidian. In some ways, it resembled the black obsidian stone he often kept in his pocket.

Since the day Moana had given him the gift for helping to save her cat, the old Maori woman insisted that the black stone was some sort of powerful talisman of protection. Chase had never really been a superstitious person and he wasn't quite sure he believed in all that supernatural talk that his aunt would spout at times. Still, his stone hadn't given him any real reason to think otherwise either. Besides, if it was true that the stone was magic, then he could always use every bit of luck he could find, right? A small smile crossed Chase's lips as he pocketed the purple stone, imagining how happy Maddie would be if he gave it to her, and how pretty she might look wearing it.

As he began to stand, he froze, noticing something else in the dirt nearby. There were several large unusually shaped footprints tracking off toward the wood line of the settlement. Even more unsettling, the footprints appeared to be deep. Taking another look about, Chase couldn't see any movement and found it a bit odd that the area seemed a little quieter than when they had arrived. The regular chatter of the birds had almost completely died away. As a cold sweat started to form around the back of his neck, Chase turned towards Maddie's direction and called out. "Maddie! I think we should get going. The area might not be safe."

Maddie emerged from the ruins and tucked away the amber stone. Looking up with surprise, she frowned in protest. "But we just got here! What makes you think that?"

Chase hurried over and took Maddie's hand. "There are a bunch of footprints nearby and they don't look normal at all." He began tugging her hand to exit the Maori settlement amid her protests.

"It was probably just some animal. What are you getting so jumpy about?" Maddie huffed. "Look around. There's nobody here!" As she pulled free of Chase's grip, she put her hands confidently on her hips. "Besides, there's no such thing..." Her words caught in her throat and she froze as the two turned to face a large menacing figure cloaked in dark rags. "...as Bigfoot."

The two treasure hunters backed away slowly as the creature shuffled toward them, barring their only route of escape down the ridge. "Who are you?" Chase called out weakly as Maddie fearfully stood behind him. "What do you want?"

From underneath the cloaked creature's hood, its eyes glowed with a sinister radiance and it growled, raising a ragged arm, "Who I am isn't important, human! What I want is the stone!" The two young people looked to one another in confusion before Maddie quickly produced the amber stone she found and handed it to Chase. "Does it mean this?"

In a blur, the monster rushed at them and raised its large cloaked arms to strike down a hammering blow. In a flash, Chase tucked the amber away and deflected the first attack with a swing of his heavy backpack, then quickly pulled out a large entrenching tool to block the second. Having parried the attack, Chase struck back with the tool, landing a glancing blow on the creature and followed up with a second of his own.

To his surprise, he struck with a strength he didn't know he had, whether it was from adrenaline or not, he couldn't tell. The monster recoiled and staggered backwards, roaring in fury. Emboldened by the momentary advantage, Chase charged forward and brought the shovel around again for another swing. To his shock, the cloaked creature suddenly recovered and grabbed the shovel, halting the attack.

With a triumphant roar, the monster raised its foot and kicked Chase square in the midsection, sending the treasure hunter flying backwards several feet toward the edge of the steep ridge. As the cloaked creature began advancing on Chase, who lay on the ground gasping for air, it stopped as it heard an angry female shout and was struck from behind with a walking stick. Despite the sound of a solid impact, the end of the walking stick shattered to pieces against the monster's hooded head. Maddie fearfully gripped the end of her broken weapon and watched in horror as the hooded creature suddenly whirled around and lashed out an arm, knocking her to the dirt with a heavy backhanded blow.

Laughing to itself, the monster strode forward and reached down to its victim. Grabbing Maddie by the neck, it lifted her up and shook the terrified girl back to her senses. As it did, the monster heard a clicking sound and turned to see that Chase had recovered to his feet, holding a loaded snub nosed revolver.

"Hold it! Don't move!" Chase shouted, furiously pointing the pistol at the monster. It was in moments like this that Chase was glad he always carried an extra bit of protection along when treasure hunting. His head was still swimming from the blow he had taken, and his ribs ached where the monster had connected. Before Chase could shout another warning, the monster whirled around and faced Chase using his partner as a body shield.

Chase suddenly hesitated and tried to focus while keeping the pistol aimed toward the monster. Seeing the treasure hunter flinch, the creature began to laugh menacingly. "What's wrong human? Too scared you'll hit your little girlfriend?"

"Don't listen to him Chase!" Maddie called back, struggling against the creature's grip. "Take the shot! I... I trust you!"

The cloaked monster silenced her by tightening his grip and growled. "Don't be a fool boy! Give me the amber stone and I will let her live."

Chase's aim faltered and he trembled, considering the monster's words. A hundred thoughts raced through his mind, like what he should do, what that thing was, and why this was even happening to him. In spite of the pain from his sore ribs, he tried to calm his breathing. A focused mind would focus his aim. Right now, he didn't want to try to be like some sort of action hero from the movies. The most important thing was protecting Madeline at all costs. He loved her, and right now he would do whatever it took to keep her safe.

"I want your word that you'll let her go!" Chase finally called, trying to keep his voice even. He reached one hand slowly to his pouch while trying to keep the gun trained on the creature's head. "Do we have a deal?"

"Chase, don't do it! Whatever that stone is, he's bound to do something bad with it." Maddie pleaded. The monster silenced her again with a violent shake before it nodded. "We have a deal, boy."

"I'm sorry Maddie." Chase called back to her, his voice softening slightly. "I won't let anything bad happen to you. I promise." From the monster's grip, Chase could see the fear in Maddie's face as she looked to him before nodding slowly. He tossed the large amber stone to the monster and it rolled along the rocky ground until it reached the creature's feet. The monster slowly picked up the large amber stone and observed it for a moment with its fiery eyes before giving a pleased nod.

"All right then! I did what you wanted!" Chase called angrily. "Now, let Maddie go! Now!"

The monster turned to Maddie and with one swift motion of its arm, hurled the girl at her partner. "As you wish."

Chase dropped his gun in surprise as he awkwardly caught Maddie and the two toppled over each other near the edge of the ridge. The monster gave another sinister laugh and watched as the two stunned treasure hunters struggled to help each other up to their feet. "Goodbye now humans. You've served your purpose."

From somewhere inside its ragged cloak, the creature waved its arm and fired off several bursts of crackling energy, which exploded all around Chase and Maddie. The two treasure hunters feebly raised their arms as they felt themselves violently thrown backwards up over the edge of the steep ridge.

"Maddie!" Chase cried as his partner desperately screamed and grabbed on to him in midair, her eyes wide with terror. As they flew off the ridge, Chase grabbed her and pulled her close. He turned his shoulders outward so that if they landed on the ground, his body would be there to cushion her fall. Amid Maddie's screams, Chase glanced down to see a glowing light begin to shine from the black stone that he kept in his pocket. The last thing Chase remembered was the sight of the cloaked monster watching from atop the high ridge before he and Maddie were enveloped in a blinding white light.

* * *

*To Be Continued...


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:**  
**"Oh my!" Bonus points for one of my sharp-eyed guest readers! I did give a nod to the Sentai and Ian Yorkland's backstory in the previous chapter. It was too great not to adapt! Ian was my favorite Kyoryuger and an awesome character, so it's no surprise that I'm going to be a little partial toward Chase this season too.**

* * *

Orange rays of the early morning sun lit up the skies of New Plymouth as a lone figure flew down the nearly empty streets on his skateboard. The boarder wore a black helmet and grey colored clothes that caught the wind as he cruised across the pavement, seemingly racing against the coming light of the sunrise. Chase Randall pushed his legs to gain more momentum as he hit a straightaway and began to coast. It felt good to stretch his legs again. It had been too long since he had been able to really push himself like this. As the memories of physical therapy sessions and hospital visits crept back from the dark crevices of his memory, so too did the memories of what happened on that forest ridge one year ago.

As Chase continued coasting, he turned off the main straightaway into a greener park area where he came across a thin morning mist that swirled hauntingly around the trees. Chase felt his breath catch as he began boarding up a shallow incline in the road and began to remember the sights and sounds of the Waipoua Forests that day.

Shaking his head, he growled and continued pushing harder up the incline, cursing himself for letting his mind drift like that. As he reached the crest of the incline, he saw two round lights materialize from the early morning mists and Chase turned to get out of the way of a truck coming from the opposite lane. Again, his heart skipped a beat as he remembered those glowing eyes, and the visceral fear that he had felt. He remembered how powerless he felt... and he hated it.

At the top of the park hill, Chase stopped a moment and looked far down the road. Thoughts of Maddie came flooding back to him and he kicked his skateboard forward, aggressively charging down the hill. The familiar feeling of speed and downward momentum pulled at him as he gritted his teeth and focused on keeping his balance down the steep slope.

As he neared the bottom, the pavement became uneven and Chase's wheels suddenly caught in a small pocket of the concrete. In a heartbeat, he was sailing through the air again, crashing downward toward the ground. Turning his shoulders and shifting his weight, he threw himself sideways off the paved road and instead landed on the soft grasses of the park walkways. As he heard his skateboard continue to roll away down the empty hill, Chase lay on his back, breathing hard and staring at the light of the pink morning sky. He stretched his arms out, and for a long while, the young man lay there in the grass, alone with the ghosts of his memories.

* * *

Meanwhile, a black SUV pulled up slowly to the curb of a small antique shop across town. As the doors of the car opened, a petite young woman in business attire and a burly young man in casual clothes stepped out to survey the area. Here and there, a few local residents were walking their dogs while several early morning joggers were out and about on the sidewalks for their morning runs. Nearby, the tempting smells of hot breakfast food from a café wafted through the air and caught the nose of the shaggy young man. He turned to the woman expectantly.

To his disappointment, she shook her head. "Not now Koda. Maybe later, ok?" Checking the address one more time, the young woman nodded and headed for the shop's door, motioning for her companion to follow her. It was a small corner shop with some faded peeling paint around the edges of the windows. From the outside, it looked very shabby and rather unassuming.

As the two approached the threshold of the shop, they saw that a closed sign was still hung from the glass door. Undeterred, the young woman reached out and rapped the door several times, then waited patiently. Moments later, a heavy set middle aged woman with long dark hair emerged from inside and came to the door. Flipping the sign, she unlocked the door and opened it for her visitors.

"Excuse me," the young woman asked. "I'm sorry if we came a little early, but are you by chance the antique seller named Moana?"

The older woman nodded and beckoned them inside. "Yes. Please, come in Miss Morgan. I've been expecting you."

The two visitors entered the shop and were at once struck by how odd and eclectic all the items on display were. The air inside the shop was a musty earthy smell of antiques as old pieces of half painted furniture and gaudy looking trinkets lay scattered about. Clothes and costumes from almost every region of the world hung on some racks off to the side while fearsome Maori masks and artwork adorned the walls.

After taking a cursory glance around, Miss Morgan turned to the shopkeeper and extended a hand. "Thank you again for meeting with me. I know we couldn't speak long on the phone but..."

"Quite all right dear." Moana replied calmly shaking her hand. "I think I already have a fairly good idea about why you are here."

Miss Morgan blinked in confusion and furrowed her brow. "You... do?"

Moana gave a mysterious smile and gently turned Miss Morgan's hand over, glancing at the young woman's palm. "Of course. I could already see it in your palm. Tell me Miss Morgan, would you care for me to read you your fortune?"

Miss Morgan shook her head, trying to be polite. "Err... no, thank you ma'am. I'm afraid I'm a woman of science."

Moana sighed and released Miss Morgan's hand. "Hmm, that's too bad. It looks like a very interesting one." Kendall continued to stare incredulously as Moana raised a hand to calm her. "I come from a long line of _Tohunga_, or practitioners of certain arts."

Kendall raised a skeptical eyebrow. "So, you're a fortune teller?"

"Of sorts," Moana chuckled, "but my family had practiced the healing arts more. Come, enough about me. You must be exhausted from your trip." Looking over to Miss Morgan's patient companion Koda, Moana smiled warmly, "As for you dear, would you care for something to eat? You look famished."

* * *

It wasn't until later in the morning that Chase returned to Moana's antique store after running a few errands for her. As he picked up his skateboard and removed his helmet, he noticed a dark SUV parked on the curb nearby the store. He wondered if it belonged to some wealthy customer. Chase entered the store and heard the jingling bell from the doors and he headed for the main desk. He removed the messenger bag he had been carrying and maneuvered past several of the store's hodge podge clothing displays and pieces of antique furniture. "I'm sorry I'm late Moana! I came as soon as I got your call!"

From behind the counter, the heavyset middle aged woman with dark features waited with a kind smile. She wore an eclectic mix of unusual dark clothing along with a floppy colorful hat, making her look more like some sort of eccentric tribal witch than a business owner.

"Chase, dear. How was your ride earlier?" she asked. "Are you feeling a little stronger?"

Chase averted his eyes and tried to force a smile. "It was fine Moana. Thanks."

The older Maori woman fixed him with a curious look and frowned slightly. "Are you sure? You look like something is bothering you."

It was hard to lie to Moana. What many other people in town didn't know was that the antique store owner was also an old Maori fortune teller with a keen eye and uncanny talent for reading people. It was a trait her young charge Chase found both amazing and aggravating at times to deal with. He shook his head. "It's nothing. You don't have to worry about me... really."

Moana reached out and lovingly patted his cheek as a mother would to her son. "But I do. After all, I made that promise to your mother that I'd look after you, didn't I? I've known you for too long to know when you're not telling me something."

Chase sighed and nodded. She had a point. The old Maori woman had been a good friend of his mother for many years and had almost become like a surrogate aunt when his mom became ill with cancer. Over the years, Moana had watched him grow and helped look after him, especially when Chase's mother went off to stay with other relatives due to her sickness. He had loved Moana like family and often found himself getting into fights when he was younger, defending the fortune teller from the nasty rumors of other children who said that she was some kind of creepy old witch.

The shopkeeper took his arm and patted it as she led him further inside the store. "Anyway, I'm glad you're here. I have some people from America here who want to talk with you."

"What? America?" Chase frowned in confusion. "What do they want with me?" Moana led him into the main display room where they met two people idly looking at the unusual antiques and treasures of the store. One was an odd young man about Chase's age with a tall broad build and dark shaggy hair. He was dressed in some old khaki shorts and a blue cutoff shirt. Beside him was a short young woman in business attire with dirty blonde hair tied into a neat ponytail.

The smartly dressed girl adjusted her glasses and turned to him with a look of curiosity. "Hello. Are you Mr. Chase Randall?"

Chase looked suspiciously to Moana for a moment before turning to the young woman. "Yes. And you are…"

"Kendall Morgan, Head Paleontologist of the Amber Beach Museum." she replied briskly extending a hand to shake Chase's. "It's nice to finally meet you." Turning to her shaggy companion she said, "This… is my assistant, Koda."

Koda gave a broad friendly grin and his large hand enveloped Chase's, crushing it in his powerful grip. "Good to meet you."

"Yeah, the pleasure's mine mate." Chase groaned, carefully cradling his sore hand. "Umm, I'm sorry, but could one of you please tell me what this is all about? I'm afraid wasn't really expecting any visitors today."

Kendall gestured for him to sit down at a nearby table. "Of course. Please, have a seat."

* * *

"Wait, so let me get this straight…" Chase exclaimed incredulously. "You mean to tell me that you flew all the way here from California with a 10,000 year old caveman looking for magical dinosaur bones, and you want my help?"

"Well, in a manner of speaking… yes." Kendall replied bluntly as Moana returned to the room with a hot teapot and a plate full of biscuits.

"And you expect me to believe that?" Chase laughed as Moana poured them each a cup of tea. He stopped to examine Koda for a moment, trying to see if he really believed the young man was a prehistoric human. Unfortunately, it was still a bit hard to tell. Fixing his eyes on Kendall again, he cleared his throat. "Ok, let's assume for a minute that what you say is true. What does any of this have to do with me?"

Kendall glanced over and saw Koda reach over and cram a handful of biscuits into his mouth, making everyone at the table pause and stare. Turning back to Chase, she said, "I have reason to believe that you are in possession of one of the Energems, or… magic dinosaur bones, as you put it. Moana had told me she had given you a black stone charm as a gift not too long ago. Do you have it on you right now?"

Chase carefully reached for the black stone charm that he had kept in his pants pocket and showed it to Kendall. Her eyes grew wide and she looked to him as she handed the stone back. "Tell me Chase, since you've gotten the stone, have you felt any different in a physical sense? Stronger? Faster? Something like that maybe?"

Chase gave a skeptical shrug. "I don't know really. Moana had always seemed convinced that it was some kind of lucky protective charm."

"I'd believe it." Kendall said raising her finger. "After all, it's probably what saved your life about one year ago."

Chase's eyes grew wide in shock. "Wait, what? How do you know about…"

"You think we didn't do our homework, did you?" Kendall answered matter of factly producing a newspaper clipping from a file she had at her side. "Your local paper said that you and Madeline Abbott had been hiking through the forests looking for some Maori ruins one year ago. According to her account, you were both attacked by some kind of monster and fell a couple hundred feet off a ridge."

Chase shivered as she recounted the story and a new wave of guilt flooded back over him.

"Despite your injuries, you miraculously recovered while Madeline was paralyzed from the waist down."

Chase and Moana exchanged a somber look making Kendall pause. "I… I'm sorry I had to bring that up again." She said apologetically. "It's just that, given the… unusual nature of the incident, it caught our attention. Even though I don't have enough data to study right now, I have a theory that the Energems can grant special properties to their owners, such as an increased healing factor in this case."

"All right, now maybe you can tell me something Miss Morgan." Chase asked pointedly, trying to go on the offensive. "It sounds like these Energems are pretty special. Why are you so interested in them?"

She glanced around and lowered her voice a little before speaking. "I believe that the Energems are sources of great power to those who possess them. I also think I've been able to develop technology which can harness that power and prevent the Energems from falling into the wrong hands."

"They turn you into Power Rangers." Koda interjected making all of them pause again.

Kendall rolled her eyes and gave an exasperated sigh, "Yes, thank you Koda."

Chase blinked a moment before turning to Kendall incredulously. "Power Rangers, like those superheroes we always see on TV? You have technology to do that… with this?" He held up his black stone and stared at it, trying to imagine if that was even possible."

"If it worked for Koda, it should work for you, given enough time for fine tuning of course." Kendall answered proudly. "In the mean time, we were going to spend another week here in New Zealand on a local dig. If you're willing, I'd like to take you on and have you help us with it. Your black Energem was supposedly bonded to a Parasaurolophus and we'd like to try and recover the bones. Besides, I was told you have a little background in archeology. That may come in useful."

"Yes, if we were digging for artifacts and appraising them..." Chase answered patiently, "not dinosaur bones. I… I'm sorry. This is just a little too much to swallow at once."

"Better to chew well first." Koda cut in helpfully as he grabbed another handful of biscuits.

Kendall pinched the bridge of her nose for a moment and took a deep breath, "Chase, the reason I've come here is because we're offering you a chance to be part of something incredible. There are dangerous things out there, like the one that attacked you. If we work together, we might have a way to do some really amazing things for the world, maybe even help protect people. Think about it. You might even be able to bring whatever that thing was to justice for Madeline."

Chase felt his temper suddenly flare and he turned on Kendall with cold anger growing in his voice, "Don't talk as if you know Maddie, or who I am either! You have no idea what we went through, or what Maddie will have to go through for the rest of her life. You're saying I can become some sort of hero... well what bloody good does that do when I couldn't even protect her!"

He held his stone up to the light in front of everyone as his voice rose. "Because of this stone, I'm still here walking around, having tea and biscuits with you while Maddie won't ever be able to walk again!"

Moana tried to take his arm as he rose from the table in anger, but he shrugged it off. "Whatever you do Miss Morgan, don't you even think of trying to come in here and emotionally manipulate me into helping you with your little scavenger hunt. I'm sorry you came all this way for nothing, but I think I've heard enough for today!" With that, he turned from the table and stormed out the door of the shop, leaving the two women in shocked silence while Koda reached over and began munching on the biscuits from Chase's saucer.


	3. Chapter 3

A warm ocean wind blew as the pounding sound of the surf echoed along the nearly empty beach line. The late afternoon sun was turning into the oranges and reds of early evening, but Chase Randall remained in his spot atop a mound of larger rocks. He sat at the edge of the white sand beach looking out over the glittering waters of the ocean in silent thought. It was just as well that the beach was nearly deserted. After what had happened that morning, he didn't really feel like talking to anyone.

Reaching down, he looked at the black stone Moana had given him and wondered again if what Miss Morgan said was really true: that the stone contained an ancient power and could turn him into some kind of superhero. But he certainly wasn't a hero. He was far from it.

He dug into his pocket and looked at the other charm he kept with him, the purple obsidian that he had intended to give to Madeline. He remembered how she had refused it when he tried giving it to her at the hospital. He also remembered her reactions to being told she was paralyzed and would never walk again, and how hurt she looked when she saw Chase make a full recovery. Most of all, he remembered the day that he sat at her bedside trying to comfort her as the same fading orange light of the evening sun streamed in through the hospital windows.

_"It'll be ok Maddie." Chase said trying to take her hand as she sat listlessly gazing out the window. "When you get released tomorrow, Moana and I will be there to help you if you need it."_

_Madeline brushed his hand away suddenly and turned to him. The normally cheerful and optimistic smiles she wore before had been replaced by ones of anguish and despair. "I don't want it Chase. I just want to go home with my parents tomorrow."_

_Chase pulled his hand back and looked on quietly as she continued. "It's so unfair! Why did this even happen? Why are you here walking around my room talking to me, and all I can do is just sit here like a useless cripple? It really pisses me off! I could swear that fate is mocking me."_

_"You're not useless!" Chase insisted, trying to deflect her mood. "Besides, you're still lucky in a way. You still have your life."_

_"And what kind of life is that going to be, having to be stuck in a wheelchair, huh?" Madeline shot back with an edge in her voice. "I can't run, or jump, or dance! I can't play sports, and I can't even go treasure hunting anymore! Not like this."_

_She lay her head back on her pillow and looked miserably at the drab colored ceiling. "Can you believe there's a part of me that actually wishes that monster had just finished me off instead?"_

_"Don't say that Maddie!" Chase pleaded. "I don't know what I'd do if that happened. I couldn't let that happen."_

_Madeline stopped and studied him for a long moment before speaking again. "You promised that you would protect me... that nothing bad was going to happen. Do you remember saying that in the forests?"_

_Chase faltered, "I'm sorry Maddie. I tried... I really did, and I still couldn't stop this from happening."_

_"Couldn't you?" she countered. "When that monster had me at its mercy, I was trusting you to shoot it, but you made a deal with it instead. You're a fantastic shot with a pistol Chase. So why didn't you just take the shot?"_

_"Come on Maddie, I can't believe you're asking me that!" Chase exclaimed. "I couldn't shoot because you mean too much to me... I love you."_

_Madeline looked to him for a long moment of stunned silence before sadly turning away toward the window. She gave a long sigh. "I shouldn't have asked you that. I know you did your best... I'm sorry."_

_"No! Don't apologize." Chase replied trying to be positive again. "From now on, I'll be there to help you whenever you need it. We can still find a way to make this work. You'll see. We can..."_

_"No." Madeline interrupted him. "I'm going back home tomorrow and I'm going to have to learn to live with... this." She gestured to her useless legs on the bed. "Whether you want to believe it or not, everything will be different. So please... just stop trying to pretend that we can go back to be being all happy and carefree like we were before."_

_A silence passed before he tried to find the right words to say, "Maddie…"_

_She cut him off, continuing to gaze absently out the window, "Just… leave me alone Chase. Please. Just go."_

_Chase felt a hand on his shoulder as a nurse entered the room. "Sir, visiting hours are over. Miss Abbott will need her rest."_

_Chase nodded and rose to his feet, wishing there was something else he could say to comfort Madeline. Instead, he found himself reduced to complete silence as he rose to his feet and was ushered out of the room by the nurse._

After that day, Madeline had been taken back to her hometown in Auckland and Chase hadn't seen her since. She had yet to return any of his calls or emails, though it was probably for the best. Still, it hurt to think about her and he often wondered if there was anything different he could have done to prevent this from having happened. She had been his friend, his partner in crime, and maybe given a little more time, something more. He missed her.

Chase held the two stones together in his hand, and as he sat alone on the beach, he wondered to himself what he would do if he actually was a Power Ranger. Would it even matter?

"You are not easy person to find." A gentle voice said pulling him from his thoughts. Chase turned in surprise to see the large figure of Koda approach from behind. The shaggy looking young man walked up and sat down near Chase with a kind smile on his face.

"Sorry mate. I guess I didn't want to be found today." Chase answered. "Though, how did you even find me anyway?"

Koda shrugged. "Moana say you liked to come to beach with Maddie. Kendall drive here, and I track the rest of the way."

Chase couldn't help but be a little impressed. The beach they were on was a little out of the way from the main road. The guy must truly have had some kind of crazy natural instincts, or survival skills. Looking back to the waters, Chase sighed "Well, I guess I should apologize to you, huh? That is... I didn't mean to go off on everyone back there."

Koda shook his head. "Apology not needed. I understand."

Chase took a sidelong glance at Koda, touched by his simple kindness. After a long pause, he asked, "So, you're really a caveman huh? From like, 10,000 years ago?"

Koda nodded and frowned recalling the memory. "I fell into ice, protecting my little brother. When I woke up, Kendall told me that this stone saved me." He held up his own blue Energem to make his point. "You are angry now, but Kendall is good person. She helped me, and teaches me about new life here. You can trust her, because I trust her."

Chase smiled slightly at Koda's sincerity and then shrugged. "Maybe you're right Koda, but it's still a little more complicated than that."

Koda nodded again sagely. "Kendall is... not always good with people. But she tries. Like me."

Chase grinned, "I guess I can't argue with that. Though, you have to admit, she has another good point at least. She's not too hard on the eyes either, eh?"

Koda's brow furrowed and he glared at Chase with a warning look. Chase raised his hands quickly in apology. "Ok. Ok, forget I said that. We won't go there."

As the two continued to listen to the sound of the pounding surf, Koda looked out over the water with a steady gaze. "You say before that you don't want to be hero... to be Power Ranger, because of your hurt friend?"

"I can't be." Chase answered somberly. "If I couldn't protect my friend Maddie from getting hurt, then what makes me any more qualified to be a Power Ranger?"

Koda turned to him. "Because I think you must have good heart, or the Energem would not have found its way to you. I know your feeling... the guilt. When I fell, I thought I failed my brother and my tribe. Kendall say my Energem would give me a second chance."

Chase stopped and nodded his head, quietly taking in the caveman's words. Koda continued, "If you become Power Ranger, people may still get hurt... maybe friends and people you love too. You can't always stop it. But, you do not feel guilt if you were not good person and did not care about others. A Power Ranger is someone who must be good and someone who does care. Maybe your Energem will give you second chance too."

Chase listened to Koda's honest words and thought it over, amazed that a 10,000 year old human was drawing parallels and offering him advice. As much as he hated to admit it, Koda had a valid point. "You know Koda, I think I might understand what you're getting at. Thank you."

After a companionable silence, Koda slowly rose to his feet and dusted the sand off his shorts. "I go now, but think over my words. Kendall say if you want to join us on dig, go to Moana's shop tomorrow morning at 8. Maybe you come. I hope you do." With that, the caveman left Chase sitting by himself on the beach with quite a bit more to think about now.

* * *

The next morning, Koda busily loaded supplies and secured camping equipment in the trunk of the SUV outside Moana's little shop. While he worked, Moana stood outside on the curb giving Kendall some last minute directions on a map while they waited.

"I can't thank you enough for your time, and the directions." Kendall finally said folding the map. "And… I'm really sorry about everything else from the other day."

Moana waved it off good naturedly. "No need to apologize dear. I wish you luck and hope you find your bones."

Kendall shrugged and checked her wristwatch. It was a few minutes to 8. "I actually hope your nephew will help join us on the dig. Do you think he'll come?"

Moana gave a sly smile. "Why, are you asking me to predict the future Miss Morgan?"

Kendall frowned slightly, knowing she was being teased as the old fortune teller laughed and calmly folded her arms. "Chase will do as he will, but I hope he comes too. He hasn't been the same since the incident with Madeline and it would be good for him to go back to doing what he loves, and maybe make a few new friends too."

As if on cue, the three of them turned and saw Chase walking down the street toward them dressed in his hiking gear. He carried a sturdy black backpack loaded with extra clothes and a few digging tools hanging from the side straps. "Morning everyone." he said tentatively joining them at the curb. "I… uh, hope I'm not late."

Koda was the first to step forward and put a welcoming hand on Chase's shoulder. "No. I am glad you came."

Chase sheepishly smiled, then turned to Kendall. "Listen Miss Morgan, I'm sorry about yesterday. I might have been a little out of line, and after talking to Koda the other day, I think we all got off on the wrong foot."

Kendall shook her head calmly, "That's all right. I probably could have picked my words a little better too, but… I'm still glad you've decided to join us."

Chase took a quick glance to the vehicle before raising a hand. "Now hold on a second. I'm just agreeing to go on the dig… you know, try things out, and see how it goes for now. I haven't fully committed to your whole save the world mission just yet."

Kendall mulled it over in her head for a moment before giving a resigned shrug. "All right, I suppose that's fair. So if that's settled, then we should probably get going."

As Kendall and Koda got in the car, Chase turned to his aunt one more time. "Moana, I'm sorry. If you're going to be shorthanded, or need help today…"

"Go." She urged him gently. "I'll be fine here."

Giving a nod, he waved to her before climbing into the backseat and closing the door. Moana stood back as the three drove off down the street, then looked toward the direction they were driving. In the far distance, the volcanic Mount Taranaki loomed over the horizon of New Plymouth, its peak shrouded in the shifting clouds. That was definitely a sign, she thought to herself. The winds of fate had begun to stir, and the spirits of fortune were at work now. She could almost sense it in her bones. What that sign meant for her adopted nephew, she could not be very certain, but she did know that something was coming and it would be up to him to confront it when that time came.

* * *

Elsewhere, the gentle wind began to pick up through the island forests as the beast man made his way through the thickets of ferns and tall kauri trees. When the wind blew, he stopped and raised his feline nose to the air. He stood motionless, taking in all the scents being carried his way from the wind: the smells of some nearby hibiscus flowers, the dung of a large elk, some volcanic ash in the air, and… a scent that he had not smelled in ages. The beast man turned his head in the direction of the smell and concentrated harder. It was the unmistakable scent of Energems. How long had he walked the earth looking for those stones? Maybe, just maybe he would be able to find one and finally redeem himself. A cruel smile spread across Fury's lips and he gave an excited growl, stalking quickly through the brush in the direction of his new prey.


	4. Chapter 4

After a short drive outside of New Plymouth, the three dinosaur hunters pulled up to a wooded field near the base of Mount Taranaki. Thick white clouds hung lazily over the top of the mountain, looking almost as if they were being churned out from the top of the volcano itself. While Chase was relatively familiar with the area, he never thought that the place potentially harbored the remains of some ancient dinosaurs. With Koda's help, he got busy unloading the gear from the trunk and worked to set up a small base camp while Kendall examined a map and began marking off a dig zone.

As soon as Chase and Koda finished setting up their tents and equipment, they joined Kendall to examine the area she had finished surveying. "Well, this should be a learning experience for me." Chase mused scratching his head. "So, what exactly are we looking for?"

Kendall pulled out a map along with pictures of a Parasaurolophus and handed it to him. "This is the dinosaur I believe may have originally bonded to your Energem."

Chase studied the picture and gave a bemused smile to himself. "He's an awfully strange looking bloke, isn't he? And what's with the funky thing on his head?"

Kendall sighed, "Can we focus, please? Now, your aunt said that she found the Black Energem somewhere near this spot, so I thought we'd start here. I'm going to set up some of my instruments right now, but I trust you know how to read this dig plan. If there aren't any more questions, I'll leave you to it."

Before he could reply, she walked off quickly into her tent to gather her own things. Chase sighed and exchanged a look with Koda muttering quietly, "Is she always like this?" The caveman nodded sympathetically and handed him a large shovel. It was time to get to work.

* * *

Over the next few days, the trio worked hard digging and sifting though the dirt. While Chase and Koda carried out the laborious job of digging and clearing the site, Kendall took on the tedious job of sifting through the soil and examining their findings. Despite going to bed sore every night, Chase strangely found he was enjoying himself. It had been a while since he had done this sort of thing, much less with other people. While Kendall and Koda were still technically strangers, he found that as he began talking to them more, he was starting to enjoy their company too.

At the moment however, Chase was ready to make an exception as he lay awake inside his tent that night. Several feet over, Koda was fast asleep in his own cot and snoring loudly, completely oblivious to the rest of the world. With a sigh, Chase sat up and exited the tent. He decided to take a quick evening stroll in hopes that it would tire him out a little more.

As he stepped out into the cool night air, he was surprised to see the campfire still crackling and the familiar form of Kendall sitting nearby it on a log. As he approached slowly, he could see her back was turned and her elbows moved slightly, as if she was hunched over working on something. Finally, he cleared his throat, "Couldn't sleep either?"

Despite the hushed question, Kendall jumped a foot, spilling some tools from her lap as she whirled around on him with a large colorful firearm in her hand.

Chase gasped in surprise and raised his hands, "Hey! Relax Miss Morgan! It's just me."

Kendall gave a sigh of relief and shook her head at him. "Chase, don't do that! You scared me half to death."

"Speak for yourself. You could have blown my head off." he remarked gesturing toward the log. "Can I join you?"

Kendall nodded and Chase sat down nearby, examining her project. "Don't you think you should be sleeping right now?" he asked.

"I couldn't." she answered, fiddling with the unusual looking revolver. "I couldn't stop thinking about some new adjustments I wanted to make on this."

"Err, if you don't mind my asking," he began, "What is that exactly?"

"This," Kendall said proudly, is your Dino Charge Morpher. I designed it myself. If you decide to join us long term, this device is what you would use to become a Power Ranger."

Chase took the revolver in his hands and examined it. "Well, it's certainly... interesting. Looks functional, but…"

Kendall narrowed her eyes, "But what?"

"Well…" Chase hesitated, trying to be diplomatic, "It's not exactly subtle. I mean, a giant yellow gun with a dinosaur head? Doesn't exactly seem very intimidating does it?"

"Oh, who asked you anyway?" Kendall huffed defensively, snatching the gun back.

As she began looking over the morpher, she said, "I was working on a way to fine tune your morpher tonight, but in order to finish that, I'd need to sync it to your Energem. Would you be willing to let me borrow it for a little while?"

Chase hesitated a minute, thinking over what her words meant and if he trusted her with the gift Moana had given him. Remembering Koda's words again, he finally relented and pulled the Energem from his pocket and handed it to her. "Be careful with it."

She nodded and took the stone from him before looking down to the ground. "Oh, you dropped something else." Reaching down, she picked up the purple stone that Chase had found in the Maori ruins. "Another good luck charm?" she asked.

He grimaced slightly to himself. "Yeah, something like that."

Holding the stone up to the firelight, Kendall examined it curiously. "It's beautiful," she remarked absently. "and purple, my favorite color."

Chase couldn't help but smile as she handed it back. "You don't seem to like talking about yourself, do you?" he asked.

"And what makes you say that?" she answered with a slight edge of defensiveness.

"Well, in the last 3 days, that's the first personal thing you've mentioned about yourself." Chase shrugged. "Koda has already told me all about his tribe and his brother. Hell, he even told me about a girl he liked before he fell in the ice. All I know about you is that you like the color purple."

Kendall shifted a little awkwardly, "Well, I usually don't talk about myself because a lot of that isn't very important. Can we please just leave it at that for now?"

Chase nodded and raised a hand apologetically. After a companionable silence, he slid another piece of chopped wood into the fire and said, "You know, I'm not sure exactly what kind of operation you're running, but you have to be a pretty remarkable girl to do it."

She glanced sideways in confusion. "I'm sorry?"

He continued poking at the fire, "I mean, you're digging for dinosaur bones, you're engineering advanced weapons, and you're helping to mentor new Power Rangers."

He turned to look at her. "Koda had told me about how much you've helped him and how you still look after him. He also told me about how you said the Energems granted him a second chance to help protect others."

"So, does this mean that you're going to…" Kendall began.

Chase shook his head. "I didn't say that. But, I just want to tell you that if Koda is any indication of the type of people you're grooming for your Ranger team, then I'm sure it will be a good one."

Kendall adjusted her glasses sheepishly from the compliment and quietly turned back to the fire. "Thank you Chase. You should probably try to get some rest now."

"Yeah," he nodded thoughtfully as he got up from his spot and headed back to his tent. "Good night Miss Morgan."

* * *

The next morning, Koda was awakened by a strange new smell drifting through the campsite. As he rolled off his cot, he left his tent and found Chase tending to a pot over their small campfire. "Morning Koda." Chase yawned, greeting his companion. "You're up kinda early today."

Koda looked to the skies checking the position of the sun and shrugged. It's not like he really knew what time was anyway. "What are you making?" Koda asked curiously as Chase poured some of the coffee into a small tin cup.

"Coffee." he answered, offering the drink. "Want some?"

Koda took the cup and drunk from it curiously, only to recoil at the bitter taste and wrinkle his nose. Chase laughed. "Sorry about that mate. I'm afraid we have to drink it black out here. But I'll tell you what, I'll start making you some pancakes as soon as Miss Morgan wakes up." Koda gave an appeased look then gestured for his friend to come with him. "I have idea. Pancakes better with fruit. We go pick some and surprise Kendall?"

"Hmm. Sounds like a good plan." Chase nodded thoughtfully. "Sure. Why not?" Glancing back toward their campsite, he left the coffeepot on in case Kendall woke up, then grabbed a small container, following Koda out into the nearby woods.

After a short walk through the ferns and brush, Chase followed closely as Koda carefully made his way through the bushes, looking for fresh edible berries to eat. As he went about his work foraging, the caveman seemed to be in his natural element. It was really quite impressive. In no time, the two had gathered a container full of sweet berries for their breakfast, but as they began to head back toward camp, Koda stopped abruptly.

"What's wrong? What is it?" Chase asked.

Koda gestured for him to be quiet and turned his head slowly, listening in all directions. "There is danger. Listen."

Chase stopped and looked around them. He couldn't see or hear anything out of the ordinary, and that worried him. A familiar feeling of dread began to stir inside. Koda slowly reached down and grabbed a large heavy tree branch to use as a weapon. In an instant, he turned and looked in the direction of some rustling ferns before diving sideways and pulling his ally to the ground.

Chase landed hard in the dirt as he dropped his container; the berries they had gathered scattering everywhere. A large feline form sprung like lightning from the bush and turned to face them. For a heart stopping moment, Chase thought it was some sort of tiger or leopard, but it couldn't have been. The beast stood on two legs and its fur was colored blood red. A low growl sounded from behind the monster's snarling teeth, and its eyes lit up with rage while looming over its prey.

"Fury!" Koda growled hefting his stick to face the beastman as it drew a jagged bladed weapon from its side.

The monster known as Fury snarled, "I thought I smelled your stink Blue Ranger. Now tell me where you're hiding the Energems!"

Chase lay on the ground dumbfounded as he watched Koda roar and strike at the monster with his club. As they exchanged a few blows, Fury shattered the club with his sword while Koda somersaulted away. Without breaking stride, Koda produced a Dino Morpher and quickly loaded his blue Energem into it. "Chase, get to safety!" Koda barked. "I protect you!"

Giving the gun barrel a spin, he fired into the air and disappeared in a flash of blue light. Chase could only look on in shock. Standing before him in place of Koda was a Blue Power Ranger with a distinct dinosaur motif. As the brilliant light faded, Fury growled and Koda rushed forward, tackling the beastman into the dense brush.

While the Blue Ranger began to grapple with Fury in a fierce jungle battle, Chase scrambled to his feet, almost feeling a sense of déjà vu. Here he was, attacked by another monster in the forests, and he was powerless to do anything about it. He hated that feeling so much and he wanted to help Koda somehow.

As the battle continued raging, Chase turned to run back toward their camp, when Fury rose up and shouted. "Where do you think you're going? I smell the Energems on you too!" Chase swallowed hard as he continued backing away. The truth was, Kendall had the Energem. Before the young man could move, Fury let loose a bust of lightning at the ground around Chase, throwing him to the dirt.

In an instant, Koda rejoined the fight and grabbed Fury, hurling the beastman hard into the trunk of a nearby tree. The large tree buckled as Fury collided with it and fell into some nearby ferns with a sickening crack. Stopping to look in Chase's direction, Koda hesitated, trying to decide whether he should go to help his friend or continue attacking Fury. The moment of delay cost him as Fury rose up and slashed the fractured tree trunk with one great swing of his sword.

Koda turned in surprise as the large tree came crashing down on him in a cloud of leaves and branches. When the dust cleared, the stunned caveman blinked, trying to clear the stars from his eyes while Fury approached. When he finally came to, the Blue Ranger was surprised to find himself still morphed, but pinned down by the weight of the heavy tree on top of him. "There's nowhere to run Blue Ranger. Give up your Energem." Fury laughed triumphantly, looming over him with his sword to the Ranger's neck. Suddenly, a rock struck the back of the monster's head and bounced into the grass.

"Hey, ugly!" a voice called defiantly. Fury turned to see Chase standing several yards away holding up the purple Maori stone toward him. "I'm talking to you furball! You want an Energem? Here! Come and get it!" With that, Chase took off into a full sprint, disappearing into the leafy ferns of the woodlands. Turning to Koda, Fury snorted. "Don't go anywhere. I'll be back for you later." Sheathing his blade, Fury took off running into the brush to hunt down his new prey.

* * *

Chase's lungs burned as he ran through the thick undergrowth of the forests. Every so often, he would glance behind him to try and see if the beast was still pursuing him. When his legs couldn't take him any further, he jogged over to a fallen tree trunk and hid behind it, gasping quietly for breath. This was insane, he thought to himself. He had no idea where he had wandered and even less of an idea how to deal with that creature if it attacked.

Even when Koda had morphed, the Blue Ranger had barely been enough to hold that thing off. What good would an average human be against that monster? In that moment, Chase prayed that Koda was safe and that his momentary distraction had been enough for the Blue Ranger to escape. He owed it to the caveman for risking his life to fight Fury.

As he caught his breath, Chase looked around once more, unable to spot any immediate danger. With the coast clear, he began to run in a different direction, hoping to throw the monster off. His attempt was in vain as he passed a tree and ran right into a large monstrous forearm. Chase collapsed hard to the ground and struggled to rise before feeling a large furry foot pin him down by his chest. "You really thought you could hide from me?" Fury mocked. "Pathetic. Now, give me your Energem and I might let you live."

"I can't." Chase gasped trying to push Fury's foot off him. "I lost it."

Fury snarled and pressed his foot down on Chase's ribs making the young man groan in pain. "You liar! I can smell the Energem's scent on you."

"Or did you mean this?" Chase gasped producing the purple stone in his pocket.

Fury examined it closely and took a deep sniff of the air. "That is not an Energem."

"Oh really? My mistake." Chase smirked defiantly. "Gosh, you aren't too bright, are you?"

Fury roared angrily and gave Chase a swift kick in the forehead, knocking the young man unconscious. "We'll just see how clever you really are, boy." Fury snarled taking hold of his unconscious victim's collar and dragging him off into the brush.

* * *

Back at the campsite, Kendall emerged from her tent and gave a sleepy yawn. Inwardly, she was chastising herself for having stayed up and sleeping a little later than usual. But it was worth it, she thought proudly. With a few little modifications and the Black Energem, Chase's morpher was finally complete and ready for a test run.

Still, it was unusually quiet in camp and she didn't hear the usual sounds of Chase and Koda's banter. As she approached the campfire, she saw a pot of warm coffee sitting off to the side and decided that the boys were probably off gathering some firewood.

She poured herself a little cup of coffee and sat contentedly for a few moments before she heard a rustling nearby. Setting the coffee down slowly, she froze and silently watched the tree line until she saw Koda emerge awkwardly. He was covered in dirt and leaves and as he staggered closer, she was able to make out several scrapes and bruises on his face and arms.

"Koda! Are you all right?" she cried rushing forward to help her friend. "What happened?"

She helped Koda over toward the campfire, but he waved her off. "Fury. He is here." Kendall's eyes went wide and she looked around cautiously. "Where is Chase?"

"Leading Fury away." After a pause, he tried to rise from the campfire. "We must go help him." Koda grunted, He winced again from his bruises and began cradling his arm.

Kendall shook her head. "Sit. You're in no condition to fight right now." she said firmly. Taking a closer look, she saw unevenness in Koda's shoulder. She wasn't a medical doctor, but it looked like he had dislocated his shoulder.

A small pang of guilt began to gnaw at her. Koda was already hurt and it was partially her fault that Chase had decided to come here in the first place. He had put his trust in her and she still had his Energem on top of that. If Chase was still out there facing that beastman, he would be in need of its power right now. Looking back toward her tent, her mind began working in overdrive to figure out what to do. Finally, she turned to Koda and said, "We have to head back to town."

Koda frowned. "We can not leave. Chase needs our help."

"And I promise we will." Kendall reassured him. "But you're hurt. We need to get help for your shoulder first."

Koda clenched a fist and grimaced, obviously conflicted in his feelings. Chase risked his own life and Koda wanted to help save his new friend. Even if Chase had never used a morpher, Koda decided that his friend was truly a fellow Ranger now. After a pause, he asked, "Didn't Moana say she was healer? We can call her."

Kendall frowned, "She may very well be, but I'm not taking you to get your arm fixed by some… witch doctor."

"We do not have much time." Koda pointed out, wincing again. "Going to hospital may cause more questions."

Kendall frowned and considered his words carefully. He did have a point, but how was she possibly going to explain what happened to the old Maori woman? It's not like she had a lot of other good options at this point. "Ok." she nodded. "I'll call Moana. Maybe she'll know how to help us." As Kendall pulled out her phone, she silently hoped that Chase would be able to survive and that she was ultimately making the right decision.


	5. Chapter 5

Chase awoke to the sound of dripping water and rolled over onto his side. His head throbbed with dull pain as he reached up to feel his forehead where Fury had kicked him. There didn't seem to be any major damage, but he was sure he had a concussion. Slowly, he sat up and opened his eyes to examine his surroundings. It was dark and he found himself sitting in a wide rocky pit about 12 feet deep. Above him, he could make out thick wooden bars covering the pit, trapping him down below. From the top of the pit, he could make out a dim flickering light source, maybe from a torch, which illuminated the cave walls.

As he continued looking upward, he was startled by the sudden appearance of 2 figures, curiously looking down upon him. In the dim light, they looked to be faceless pale skinned humanoids with long green hair and they chattered away excitedly to each other in some unknown language. Chase recoiled in fear and fell backwards when a larger figure shoved the two aside. It was Fury.

"You're finally awake." The beast man snarled. "Maybe now you'll be a little more willing to tell me where you hid the Energems."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Chase answered, but the monster silenced him, giving the wooden bars a violent kick. The bars rattled and a small cloud of leaves and dust rained down. "Don't try my patience boy!" he roared. "Where are they?"

Chase's heart raced, trying to come up with a plan, but it was hard to do with a throbbing head and a monster roaring in his face. He decided on the truth… sort of. "I told you. I don't have them. I… I dropped them back in the woods. So you might as well let me go. I'm of no use to you now."

Fury snorted and paced around the caged pit. "No. You're not going anywhere."

Chase frowned "What? Why?"

"Knowing the Blue Ranger, he will try to come looking or you." Fury confidently replied, "When he does, I'm going to take his Energem too." Turning to one of the chittering green haired creatures, Fury said, "Keep an eye on him. I'm going out to hunt again."

As Fury stalked out of the cave, Chase slumped down and gave a sigh of despair. He was already running on borrowed time and wondered how he would even get out of the cave. He also wondered where Koda and Kendall were, and if they were safe. Reaching into his side pocket, he produced his cell phone and tried to see if he could try to make contact with the outside world. To his dismay, the reception signal barely registered. Leaning back against the wall of the pit, he fished out the purple Maori stone from his pocket and gave a faint smile while holding it in his palm. It wasn't his black Energem, but it had already protected one life and maybe possessed a little luck of its own. He would need every bit of it now.

* * *

Meanwhile at the campsite, Koda grunted as Moana steadied his arm and made some minor adjustments. "It's ok Koda." the Maori woman said gently, trying to calm the nervous caveman. To his and Kendall's surprise, Moana had answered Kendall's call and drove straight up to the mountain, no questions asked when they said her nephew might be in danger.

"Just hold still," Moana instructed making a final adjustment. "I'm going to set your arm back in place, but it's going to hurt a little first." Koda nodded and held his breath as Moana firmly gripped his arm and gave a hard push inward, popping the arm back into place. The caveman stifled a grunt of pain and then gingerly moved his arm. It was still very sore, but it seemed to be working again.

Nearby, Kendall was at work on her laptop, furiously typing at the keypad.

"Any luck Miss Morgan?" Moana asked walking over while cleaning off her hands.

Kendall gave a guarded expression and chewed her bottom lip. "We should know in a minute or two. If Chase has his phone on him, I may be able to get a fix on his general location via GPS."

As she worked, Moana and Koda gathered around her watching the computer screen intently. A minute or so later, they heard a chime and saw a topographical map of the Mount Taranaki region appear with a small pinging icon.

"Is that him?" Moana asked, her voice full of concern.

"I think so." Kendall replied with a worried frown. "The signal is only about 5 miles from here but it seems to be very weak. That could mean either the battery is low, or maybe he's underground?"

Koda sat nearby with a thoughtful expression before looking to the sky. "If we know where Chase is, how do we know he is still alive?"

Kendall and Moana looked to each other for a moment before they turned back to Koda. Kendall hadn't considered that until now and was at a complete loss for words. "Uh... well..."

Koda looked to Moana hopefully. "Do you know any Maori magic that can help?"

"Koda!" Kendall exclaimed with a frown. "I told you, there is no such thing as magic!"

Moana folded her arms serenely and paced a few steps. "There may be something I can do Miss Morgan. You may not believe in my ways, but I would still like to try."

Kendall glanced to Koda before giving a resigned sigh. Moana continued. "You say that this Energem has bonded to Chase. If it is still connected somehow to his life force, I may be able to try and sense Chase through the Energem."

"Well, metaphysically speaking... I suppose that makes some sense." Kendall grudgingly agreed handing over the black stone.

Moana took the Energem and clasped both hands over them. Closing her eyes and raising her head to the sky, she stood motionless. While Kendall and Koda waited for a few silent minutes, they exchanged a curious look before turning back to the old Maori woman, who seemed frozen in some sort of mysterious silent prayer.

Finally, Moana opened her eyes and slowly turned her head to the two young people. "My nephew is alive. The spirit of the stone says it is restless and wishes to be reunited with him." Koda gave a relieved expression while Kendall grimaced slightly. While she was glad to hear a "good fortune," there was no real way to be certain it was true. As much as she wanted to question Moana's prognostication, she held her tongue and decided to try and have a little faith.

"If that's the case, then Koda and I are going to find Chase and bring him back." Kendall said to Moana with determination in her voice. "This all happened because of me, and I'm going to take full responsibility for whatever happens."

Moana gave a calm smile to Kendall. "I know you will Miss Morgan, and thank you. But you don't need to place too much burden on yourself. I'm sensing a good fortune coming and I have a faith that things will work out."

"Well, if that's going to happen, we're going to have to be prepared for a rescue mission." Kendall replied turning to Koda. "Let's gather what we need and take the SUV as close as we can to the homing beacon. It should be able to handle some off-road driving, but I'm going to rely on you to track the rest of the way."

Koda nodded in agreement and stretched his arm one more time. "I have fight to finish with Fury."

* * *

Back at the cave, Chase moved slowly and kept his breathing quiet as he tried to climb out from his dark pit. The strange creatures assigned to guard him milled about nearby, seemingly oblivious of what he was doing and his body tensed every time he could make out their shadows moving on the cave walls above.

Slowly, he inched his way upward along the rocky sides of the pit, finding an occasional hand hold. He could see that while the wooden bars covering the pit were not very heavy, they were still thick enough to cause problems should he try to lift them up from underneath. He didn't have a plan to deal with the bars just yet, but he had been sitting in that dark pit for what seemed like several hours. He had to try something before Fury returned.

As he finally made it to the top of the pit, he placed a hand on one of the bars to support himself while trying to get a sense of which direction to try to shift to next. Before Chase could get a good push from underneath, one of the creatures gave an angry screech and stamped down on his fingers, making him loose his grip. Chase fell back into the pit and groaned in hopelessness as the creature stuck its head between the bars, chattering in what sounded like a mocking tone. As he lay in the pit, Chase desperately hoped that Koda and Kendall were trying to figure out a way to find him. If only he hadn't been so stubborn. He might have been able to save himself with the power of the Black Energem. He could have been a Power Ranger. He couldn't save Maddie before, and now he couldn't even save himself! For now, all he could do was lay miserably in the dirt and hope for a miracle.

* * *

It had taken some time, but Kendall and Koda quietly made their way through the bushes and ferns of the forest, homing in on Chase's position. Despite their requests for her to go back to the safety of New Plymouth, Moana refused, insisting to remain at their base camp and watch over it until the two returned. Koda led the way while keeping a close eye on the ground and following the subtle clues of the terrain, hoping that it would lead them to their lost companion. As Kendall followed closely behind, she grimaced at the low branches and leaves scratching at her as well as the unusual feeling of having dressed down to hiking clothes. She was not used to roughing it in the field and she lamented the fact that she was definitely out of her element right now.

Suddenly, Koda stopped and crouched low, motioning for her to do the same. "We are very close." Koda whispered pointing through the brush. Just ahead was a large clearing and what looked to be a forest cave. Kendall looked around and whispered, "What about Fury? Is he here?"

Koda frowned, trying to read the landscape. "He was, but I can't smell him now. We must be careful still. There are Vivix."

Kendall pulled out the Dino Morpher meant for Chase and gave the ok signal to the caveman. Koda began to rise from the brush and brandished his own morpher. "I will draw off the Vivix. You go to help Chase." She nodded and stepped back as Koda produced his Energem and morphed into the Blue Ranger.

"Good luck Koda." she said quietly. "I promise we won't be long."

The Blue Ranger nodded and drew his Dino Saber. Kendall watched closely as he left the bushes, making his way quickly for the cave entrance. To her surprise, several pale skinned Vivix appeared. The chittering green haired minions had been apparently laying in wait in case any intruders came into the area. There was no doubt that Fury had left them there either.

Koda gave a howl and began bulldozing his way through the enemy creatures like a rampaging dinosaur. As he sent one of the Vivix flying with a saber blow, Koda turned towards Kendall's hiding spot and nodded before taking off in the opposite direction with a pack of the creatures in pursuit. Kendall gripped the Dino Morpher and took a deep breath. Gathering her courage, she rose from her hiding spot and started running quickly for the mouth of the cave.

* * *

Chase awoke to the sounds of angry cries from the pale skinned creatures and looked up in surprise to see them rush out of the room. He could hear some commotion from outside and wondered what was going on and what had his captors so alarmed. Could it be Koda? He squinted through bleary eyes and tried to adjust his vision to the dim cave light when he suddenly heard the sound of a weapon being fired and a pained cry from one of the creatures. To his shock, the creature went flying backwards and toppled over near the edge of Chase's pit. The monster lay there motionless until another form appeared and shoved it aside.

From above, he could hear the hushed whisper of a female voice "Chase! Are you in there?"

"Miss Morgan? Is that you?" Chase croaked scrambling to his feet. "I'm in here!"

Kendall nervously looked around the room, her weapon arm still shaking from having shot the Vivix guard. Looking down into the pit, she called, "Ok. Hang on. I'm going to get you out of here. Now just stand back."

She hesitantly gripped the Dino Morpher revolver with two hands and fired another two shots at the edges of the wooden bars. The bars covering the pit blasted apart and the energy weapon left a hole just big enough to allow for escape. Chase quickly rose to his feet and scrambled up the side of the pit to climb out. Kendall hurried over and extended her hand, helping him climb out to freedom.

"God, am I ever glad to see you!" he gasped, getting clear of the pit. "Where is Koda?"

"Leading the other guards off." Kendall replied looking him over. "Are you hurt?"

"I'll be fine." Chase answered rising to his feet. "Ah... thank you, for coming back to save me. Both of you."

Kendall sheepishly shrugged and produced the Black Energem from her pocket. "Oh, I think this belongs to you."

Chase smiled at her and took his Energem back. "My hero."

Kendall rolled her eyes and gave a huff. "Come on. We've got to get out of here before the monsters get back."

Readying the Dino Morpher pistol again, Kendall grabbed Chase's hand and pulled him along, hurrying out toward the mouth of the dark cave.

* * *

As Kendall and Chase emerged from the cave, they heard the sounds of a heated battle nearby and looked over to see where Koda had returned and was bravely battling a pack of Vivix. To everyone's shock, Fury returned and erupted from the bushes, looking around in confusion of the melee. "What is going on here?" the monster bellowed.

Chase halted a moment and gasped, "Koda's outnumbered. We've gotta do something!"

"Koda knows what he's doing!" Kendall exclaimed continuing to tug his arm forward. "Come on! We have to get to safety!"

At that moment, both Koda and Fury stopped from squaring off and turned to glance at the escaping forms of Kendall and Chase. "After them!" Fury roared toward some of the Vivix. "Don't let them get away!"

"Not so fast!" Koda shouted back pulling a battery charge from his belt buckle. In one swift motion, he loaded the battery into his revolver and fired off a powerful blast of energy toward the monsters. Fury turned back in surprise and raised his sword just in time to deflect Koda's energy blast sideways... toward the caveman's own friends. Koda looked on in shocked horror as the blue burst of dinosaur energy struck the ground near his fleeing friends and erupted into a large explosion. Both Kendall and Chase were thrown in different directions and hurled to the ground. Before Koda could react further, Fury pounced on him while the remaining Vivix hurried over toward the fallen forms of Kendall and Chase.

As her vision came to and the ringing in her ears dimmed, Kendall groaned and picked herself up off the ground. Small fires from Koda's stray shot still burned on the ground and she suddenly realized how disoriented and blurry her vision was. Her glasses! They must have fallen off in the explosion! Her heart raced as she began frantically groping at the soil around her. She could still hear the sounds of battle and wondered what was going on. Finally, she grabbed a familiar metal frame and breathed a sigh of relief as she put her glasses back on. As her vision returned, she gasped in fear as she found herself almost surrounded by a pack of approaching Vivix creatures.

Nearby, Chase rolled over and grunted in pain. His head was swimming and his whole body ached from all the abuse of the day as he slowly raised himself up to his knees. As his vision cleared, he could see the entire battlefield. At the edge of the clearing, Koda was knocked down by a hard blow from Fury and the beast man stalked over, intending to finish off the Blue Ranger. In the near distance, Chase could see Miss Morgan still on the ground, curling up in fear as a group of Vivix soldiers closed in around her. Glancing at the scorched soil around him, Chase looked down to spot the Dino Morpher that Kendall had dropped in the blast. His own heart raced and he breathed nervously as he took the revolver, gripping it in his hand. Without thinking, he looked to his other hand where he now held his Black Energem.

Koda and Kendall were in danger. They were good people who had risked their lives coming back to save him. He might not have been able to protect Madeline, but all the decisions he had made up to this point had led him here. Now he had one final choice to make. He was tired of being powerless and letting innocent people suffer from these monsters. He couldn't let these new friends get hurt because of him. He was a Power Ranger, and at that very moment, he knew exactly what he had to do.

Fury laughed triumphantly and raised his sword as Koda scrambled to get back to his feet. "Struggling is useless! It's over Blue Ranger!" As Fury began to swing his sword down on Koda, a blaster shot rang out and struck Fury in the wrist, causing his sword to fly off into the brush. Koda turned in surprise to see Chase standing with the Dino Morpher revolver in hand. The Vivix even paused to stare as Fury growled and turned toward Chase holding his injured paw.  
"You just made the wrong decision, human!"

"No!" Chase answered with a small smile as he raised his Energem. "I'm about to make the right choice."

From where they lay on the ground, both Kendall and Koda watched as Chase swiftly loaded the Energem into the morpher and spun the gun barrel, raising it high into the air. In one motion, he pulled the trigger and disappeared into a blinding flash of light.

* * *

**A/N: Stay tuned everyone. As a bonus, the thrilling conclusion will be posted tomorrow!**


	6. Chapter 6

As the light faded, everyone saw another Power Ranger dressed in black step forward to challenge the monsters. The Ranger with a Parasaur motif stylishly twirled his blaster upward like a cowboy gunslinger and pumped his other fist energetically. It all felt so right! The rush of surging power that coursed through him was amazing and Chase felt like he could put his fists through a solid block of concrete. He felt so much stronger, faster, and confident in his ability to fight off these creatures. This was exactly what he needed.

In an instant, Koda rose up and sent Fury flying with a powerful punch, then turned to Chase. "I will deal with Fury. Go help Kendall!" Chase nodded and turned toward the surprised Vivix while Koda advanced on the stunned beast man, feeling a second wind coming on.

Chase rushed the Vivix minions and fired his Dino revolver, opening the way through several of them. As he flipped and tumbled through the fray, he sent one flying with a well placed kick and blasted another with his pistol, clearing a path to Kendall's side.

The scientist looked up at Chase in shock as the Black Ranger bent down and offered his hand. "This floor looks a little crowded. Would you care to dance Miss Morgan?"

Before Kendall could even answer, he hoisted her up quickly and began twirling her to avoid attacks from the Vivix around them. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Kendall cried in surprise and outrage as she held on to the Black Ranger for dear life.

As he spun and swung her about in what almost looked like an improvised salsa dance, Chase laughed aloud and counter attacked against the Vivix, knocking several of them away with his kicks or blaster shots. As he made a quick turn and twirled Kendall again, Chase finished off the last of the Vivix with three perfect blaster shots and caught her in a stylish dip. "Why Miss Morgan, you dance divinely."

Kendall glared at Chase incredulously and almost thought she could see him wink behind the visor of his helmet. "You're insane! You know that?" Kendall breathlessly gasped letting go and trying to compose herself.

Chase readied his weapon again and turned toward Fury. "Right then. You'd better find some cover. I'm going to help Koda."

Kendall nodded and hurried over to the tree line and got down while Chase sprinted quickly to assist his friend in battle. As Koda struggled with Fury in hand to hand combat, the two spun clear as Chase leapt in to break up the fight.

"Are you alright, mate?" Chase asked, turning to Koda.

The caveman nodded and put a hand on Chase's shoulder. "I am now. Are you ready?"

"You bet!" Chase replied as the two Rangers squared off together against Fury. In an instant, the two Rangers charged forward and attacked together in perfect unison. Fury recoiled and fell back on his heels against the rain of fists and feet as he was pummeled by the Rangers' merciless assault.

As he struggled to defend himself, the beast man's wrists were grabbed by the Blue Ranger and he was spun around only to meet the business end of the Black Ranger's pistol. Fury howled as he was blasted backwards into the dirt by Chase's point blank shot.

While the beast man struggled to rise amid a cloud of smoke, Chase and Koda exchanged their charge batteries and loaded their Dino Morpher revolvers for a finishing attack.

"We finish together." Koda said spinning the barrel of the blaster and charging his shot.

"Couldn't have said it better myself." Chase answered as the two took aim.

Fury's eyes went wide as both Rangers fired their weapons and he was hammered by a spiraling wave of surging blue and black energy. As the shots detonated into a large fiery explosion, Fury was scorched badly and thrown far off into the woods, unseen by the two Rangers.

As Kendall watched the combined attack, she gasped as both Rangers slowly turned their backs around to the explosion in order to face her, except they misjudged their own distance and power of the blast. To both Rangers' surprise, they were caught at the edge of the fireball and thrown forward on their faces several yards off. Kendall's face contorted in worry as she hurried over to see the two Rangers demorph on the ground.

But as she drew near, she was shocked at what she heard. From the ground came the sound of Chase and Koda slowly beginning to laugh, both in relief and at their own failed attempt to look so cool. Both young men rolled over on their backs continuing to laugh loudly while reaching out to clasp each others hand. "Well done Koda!" Chase chuckled. "But I think we still need to work on our victory pose."

Koda only laughed harder. As she stood over her two delirious friends, Kendall simply put her hands on her hips and slowly shook her head as a relieved smile finally broke out over her lips.

* * *

Having succeeded in their rescue mission and driving away any more threat of monsters, the three dinosaur hunters made their way back to their base camp and returned to Moana. After a happy reunion with the Marori fortune teller, they decided to forget the dinosaur bones and strike camp instead. With a brand new Ranger in tow, the group headed back to New Plymouth to recover from their ordeal.

A few days later, Chase Randall found himself outside Moana's shop again, only this time he was loading a few bags of his clothes and personal items into the back of Kendall and Koda's vehicle. It was early in the morning and Kendall was keeping an eye on the clock so that they wouldn't miss their flight home. As Koda took the last of the bags and loaded them into the trunk of the car, Chase stood by Moana and took a long look around his small neighborhood in New Plymouth.

"I have to admit, I'm really gonna miss this place." he sighed fondly. "But who knows? California could be exciting too."

Moana smiled warmly and gave her nephew a hug. "You're doing the right thing Chase. The world will be in need of another good Power Ranger. I know your two new friends will help guide you on your way."

"You always sound so certain of yourself." Chase grinned gently teasing his aunt. "How would you possibly know that?" Moana laughed as Chase hugged her again. "I'll miss you Aunt Moana. Tell Mum I'll keep in touch.

As Chase took one more look around, Kendall stepped forward. "Chase, I don't want to sound like we're pressuring you into joining us. If you really want to stay here in New Zealand, there's still time. It's your choice."

"No." he replied gently. "I've decided to go. I need to do this for myself. It still might take a little time to accept everything that happened in the past, but if I'm going to be a Power Ranger and responsible for the safety of others, then I'm going to need to learn how to move forward too. You said it yourself Miss Morgan. Our Energems might just be our second chances at life after all."

Kendall gave a gentle nod and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "If she were here, I know Madeline would be very proud of you."

As Koda ambled over, Chase sighed, "You know, I actually think I'll understand what Koda's going though a little now. After all, I'm going to be a stranger in a new land, kinda without a tribe."

Koda shook his head gently. "I am not alone. I have new tribe, with you and Kendall. You are a Ranger. So, now we are brothers."

Chase gave a touched smile and extended a hand. "Thanks big guy. That means a lot."

To his surprise, the caveman grinned and ignored the handshake, lifting him up in a crushing bear hug to make his point.

As Chase let go of Koda and took a moment to recover, he overheard Kendall speaking to Moana and thanking her again for all her help. "I really don't know what we would've done if you hadn't come to help Koda." Kendall finished.

Moana shook Kendall's hand and smiled. "You two were willing to risk your lives for my nephew. It was the least I could have done."

As Moana released Kendall's hand, she asked again with a curious look, "Are you really sure you don't want to have your fortune read Miss Morgan? Consider it a token of my appreciation for your actions."

Kendall hesitated for a moment, looking at her own palm before turning back to Moana. "No, thank you. If it's all the same to you, I think I'll just settle on having faith for now, and letting the surprises come as they may."

"Well, in that case... let me be the first one to surprise you." Chase said stepping forward. "I never really got a chance to properly thank you Miss Morgan. Besides pulling me from that pit, it was all the work you did on my morpher that kept us safe on the mountain."

Kendall sheepishly shrugged and tried to play it off, "Oh.. well, it was nothing… really."

"Maybe," Chase answered, "but I still want to give you something."

To her surprise, Chase took her hand gently and put his purple Maori stone in it. "What? Chase, I can't accept this." she said in shock.

"I want you to have it." he insisted. "It may not be an Energem, but it's saved lives already, a lot like what you've done for Koda and I. Anyway, I thought you should have a lucky stone to protect you too, especially if we're all going to be friends now."

As Kendall took a moment to admire the purple stone again, Chase added with a friendly wink, "Besides Miss Morgan, it is your favorite color, right?"

Kendall clasped the Maori stone and nodded, giving him bright genuine smile. "Thank you. And if we're going to be friends, then I suppose it's all right if you just call me Kendall from now on."

Chase returned the smile and nodded as Moana checked her own watch and cut in. "I hate to break up the team bonding moment, but your flight should be leaving in a few hours. Best you three get going to the airport."

The three young people nodded and said a last goodbye before piling into the car and driving off toward the airport. As the SUV sped away, Moana took one more look up to Mount Taranaki in the distance. The skies around the towering volcanic mountain were a clear peaceful blue and the fortune teller smiled as she slowly made her way back inside the antique shop. Wherever her nephew was going and whatever future lay in store for him and his new friends, Moana had a feeling that they were going to be just fine.

* * *

Chase Randall looked up from his seat as he heard the chime from the speaker above him. "Attention passengers, this is your captain speaking. We should be arriving at Los Angeles International in about two hours. Our flight attendants will be coming around shortly with some breakfast and we should have clear calm skies the rest of the way. We hope you'll enjoy the smooth sailing."

Outside, he could see the early morning orange and yellow of the dawn sun as it reflected off the ocean. It was beautiful. Glancing over next to him, he saw the forms of his two friends still asleep in their seats. It had been a long flight, and a stressful past week for all of them. Still , he couldn't help but smile at the sight of his new friends and companions. Koda's earphones were still on his head, blaring music while Kendall continued to snore quietly, if unceremoniously, through her nose.

Turning back to his own seat, he looked down and studied the sheets of paper he had been writing on for the last couple hours. Had he written too much? Or maybe not enough? It had been so long and there was just too much to say. But at the same time, it seemed like there wasn't a lot he would be allowed to say right now. Chase looked down at the letter he had been composing to Madeline, telling her all about what happened: his new friends, the Energems, battling Fury, and becoming a Power Ranger. It all seemed so surreal, like some kind of fleeting dream that he was writing down more for his own benefit to make sense of it all.

With a sigh, he put his pen down and folded the letter up. He didn't expect Maddie to reply, but he felt like he should tell her at some point. When that would be, he wasn't quite sure either. He supposed that would be a choice for another day. In the mean time, he had a new life in America to prepare for, as well as life as a new Power Ranger. He took a moment to remember the mysterious monster that first attacked him and Maddie in the Maori ruins and he wondered if he would ever see the creature again. He also wondered what other monsters and battles would lie ahead.

For the time being, it was probably best that he just enjoy the moment of peace and continue moving forward. No doubt there would be new challenges and new opportunities ahead. As he continued looking out the window lost in thought, he was tapped on the shoulder. A young stewardess with a cute face was coming around with breakfast and stood over him.

"Would you like a bagel and orange juice, sir?" she smiled.

"Thanks." he replied, a little caught off guard. Gesturing to his two sleeping companions, he tried to speak for them. "Oh, and about my friends..."

"Don't worry." she winked flirtatiously. "It'll give me another reason to come back this way."

As she continued on down the aisle, Chase sat in stunned silence. It seemed "opportunity" had ironic timing. Taking one last glance to his two companions, Chase leaned back in his seat and ate his breakfast with a quiet smile as he thought about the future. From where he was sitting; surrounded by new friends, his Black Energem, and a cute flight attendant giving him looks, it looked like he had made all the right choices.

The End

* * *

**A/N:**  
**Lots of thanks to any and all of you dedicated readers for following along to the finish! I hope you enjoyed reading the story as much as I did writing it. I may do a companion piece in the future that refers back to this story, but we'll see how Dino Charge plays out first. In the mean time, don't be shy, and feel free to leave any comments or reviews. I'd love to hear from you all!**


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